Field
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a spinner system for coupling or de-coupling tubulars in a drilling or workover operation utilized in the oil and gas industry. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to a control valve that controls the fluid flow and accordingly the torque and speed at which a spinner tool can operate if the spinner tool is not secured by a safety snub line.
Description of the Related Art
A spinner tool (also known as a “pipe spinner”) is commonly used in the oil and gas industry. The spinner tool is an air or hydraulically powered tool used to spin tubular pipe in making up or breaking out threaded connections. The spinner tool may be used to thread tubulars together in a drilling operation (make-up) or used to de-couple tubulars by rotating the tubular in an opposite direction. The spinner tool is a relatively low torque device, useful for the initial makeup of threaded tool joints in a drilling operation, and a separate power tong is subsequently used to provide proper torque to complete threaded connections.
During operation on a rig, the spinner tool is suspended above a rotary spider that is located in the rig floor. The spinner tool has rollers that are moved into position about a pin end of a tubular and configured to rotate the tubular relative to another tubular (held by the rotary spider) to threadedly couple the two tubulars together. The rollers are coupled to a frame of the spinner tool that needs to be fixed to prevent inadvertent rotation of the frame about the tubulars. A snub line in the form of a cable or wire rope is typically utilized to secure the frame to a winch or other fixed object to prevent the frame from rotating. However, personnel sometimes forget to attach the snub line which may allow the frame to rotate when the spinner tool is operated and potentially injury nearby personnel and/or damage surrounding equipment. This creates a safety hazard on the rig.
Therefore, there exists a need for a new and improved spinner tool that prevents the safety hazard described above.